Page 22 of Nothing to Beat

No.

Someone would’ve come to her with bad news… wouldn’t they?

If it was medical, the whole family would be at Breck’s bedside and she wouldn’t have seen any of them.She should get friendlier with Savanna.Alice was available to her twenty-four, seven, but the wonderful woman didn’t have time to get held up by gossip.

This wasn’t gossip, this was something.Gossip didn’t keep Breck from his office for a week.What could be happening in his life that didn’t affect the other Breckenridges?Another woman?Ha, funny.That was firmly in the “no way” column.No, it had to be something…

Sheesh, talk about FOMO.Something was going on in Breck’s life, he might need support, and she was out of the loop.She was his loop, who did he think he was cutting her out?Radio silence was not okay and she’d tell him that… if he ever graced her with his appearance again.Guy better wear a helmet and pads if he did because this was not okay.Disappearing on her was not okay.Worrying her, scaring her, he’d need a shield and a stick to survive when she caught up with him.

Ward was in, but she bypassed his office to march into another.

“Where is he?”she demanded of the man behind the desk.He pushed back in his seat.“Caber, I swear to—”

“Tripp wins the pool.How does he always do that?You women have to stop confiding in him, puts him at an unfair advantage.”

She hadn’t talked to Tripp since leaving Roxie’s last Friday night.

“So you’re playing a game?Breck’s supposed to be the sensible one.He wouldn’t take a whole week off work for a bet.Is the point to rile me?”Talk about conceited.“This isn’t about me.This time off—

“Not time off,” Caber said, shaking his head as he picked up his pen to tap it on the desk.“He quit.”

If someone so much as sneezed in her direction, she’d go down.Bowled over didn’t begin to cover it.

He couldn’t mean… “Quit what?”

“Breckenridge.”

After the words bedded in, her smile reacted.“Bullshit,” she said on a burst of laughter.“Is that your bet?You think I would fall for that?Not a chance he’d—”

“He quit,” Caber said with a slight nod.“All the way.He no longer works for any Breckenridge company and claims he never will.”

Should she be startled or devastated?“Why?”the question just popped out.“Ben would never…” Maybe she should’ve gone straight to the top; this was insanity.“What could possibly have happened?Was there a fight?”

Arguments or disagreements might cause tantrums and forever rifts in her family, it would be alien for the Breckenridges.With them, respect and communication were everything.

“No.He’s just through.Says he has priorities.”

“He loves his job.His family.Working with—he loves his job.”She knew the man just as well as his mother, better in some arenas, yet she had nothing.No explanation.Her mind was blank, completely empty.Why would he choose this?“Is he stepping back to give the rest of you the chance to…?”

To what?The Breckenridges made space for each other.Alice could deal with hurt feelings and Ben controlled the beast’s ego.They were caring parents, involved, they didn’t favor one son over another.If someone else wanted a crack at something, they’d give them the chance.Breck wouldn’t stand in the way of his brothers’ ambition either.It was a sight to see when they conversed; the family actually respected each other for real.

“It was completely his choice,” Caber said.“Kinda came from nowhere, but, yeah, he’s sure.This is what he wants.”

No Breckenridge would stand in the way of another following their chosen path, even if that path steered them away from the family.

“Why?”There it was again.“What possible reason…?”

Maybe it was a medical emergency and no one had noticed his psychosis.Could be he’d hit his head or swallowed something toxic.

Caber shrugged.“He has a plan.”

And now she was just incredulous.“What plan?”

His lips widened in a smile.“You expect me to answer that?”

No.Because on top of everything else, Breckenridges kept each other’s confidence.

This was the Twilight Zone.“It’s a secret plan?”

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